Cleat guard

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION PROVIDES A SHOE CLEAR PROTECTIVE DEVICE THAT INCLUDES A SOLE PORTION OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL INCLUDING IN ITS UPPER SURFACE A PLURALITY OF SPACED RECESSES IN THE PATTERN OF THE CLEATS OF A SHOE AND DIMENSIONED TO SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLEMENTARILY RECEIVE THE CLEATS, WITH A LONGITUDINAL GROOVE EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM THE FORWARDMOST RECESS TO ALLOW THE FORWARD CLEAT TO ENTER THE FORWARD RECESS BY SLIDING MOTION, AND AN UPPER EXTENDING FORM THE SOLE PORTION TO ENGAGE THE UPPER OF THE SHOE. A LAYER OF HARDER MATERIAL MAY BE INCLUDED BENEATH THE RECESSES TO PREVENT THE POINTS OF THE CLEATS FROM PUNCHING THROUGH.

March 2, 1971 J, PlLARSK] 3,566,488

CLEAT GUARD Filed May 5, 1969 INVENTOR.

ANTHONY J. PILARSKI ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,566,488 CLEAT GUARD Anthony J. Pilarski, 534 Newton St., San Fernando, Calif. 91349 Filed May 5, 1969, Ser. No. 821,573 Int. Cl. A43b 3/16 US. Cl. 36-75 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention provides a shoe cleat protective device that includes a sole portion of flexible material including in its upper surface a plurality of spaced recesses in the pattern of the cleats of a shoe and dimensioned to substantially complementarily receive the cleats, with a longitudinal groove extending rearwardly from the forwardmost recess to allow the forward cleat to enter the for ward recess by sliding motion, and an upper extending from the sole portion to engage the upper of the shoe. A layer of harder material may be included beneath the recesses to prevent the points of the cleats from punching through.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention This invention relates to a protective device for shoe cleats.

The prior art Many sports require the Wearing of cleats on the playing field for providing the athlete with greater traction. However, inevitably there are occasions where walking is necessary across paved surfaces where the cleats cannot dig in, but, instead, are very slippery, providing unsure footing. Falls and severe injuries can result. The most common use of cleated shoes is for golf playing, where the player usually must change into his golf shoes at the parking lot after driving to the course in his conventional shoes. Here, the bumper of the car may be used as a support while the shoes are being put on, causing damage 7 by scratching the plating of the bumper. Following this, there is a hazardous walk across paved surfaces before the course can be reached. Within the club area around the golf course, there will be places where cleats are not permitted because they would result in damage to the floors. To avoid this, the golf shoes may be removed, which not only is inconvenient, but also may be offensive to others. When the cleats are worn over paved areas, they not only are dangerous, but frequently cause the cleats to be broken off or worn down. Stair treads with metal guards may create a particularly hazardous situation to a person :wearing the cleated shoes, as the cleats readily catch and may cause a fall.

There have been prior proposals to provide some sort of protective means to cover the cleats and avoid the objectionable conditions discussed above. One such proposal results in a peripheral support that extends around the edge of the shoe sole to raise the cleats off the ground. This is uncomfortable and will not effectively keep the cleats from contacting the surface beneath intermediate the peripheral supporting portions. In another design, the cleats are covered by a sheet of material which is engaged by the tips of the cleats to keep the cleats from contacting the surface beneath. This causes the weight of the person to be borne by the localized areas of the individual cleats. The remainder of the sole and the heel of the shoe are not supported by the protective device and, in turn, cannot bear any of the weight. Therefore, the device becomes uncomfortable and does not allow natural walking on the part of the user.

3,566,488 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 The present invention provides an improved cleat guard device adapted for golf shoes or other shoes having cleats on the bottoms of the soles. The device includes a sole portion, which preferably is of a resilient elastomer formed as a relatively thick pad. From this extends an upper of the same material, which is adapted to snap around the toe and heel of a shoe. Within the upper surface of the sole portion of the protective device are spaced recesses which are adapted to substantially complementarily receive the individual cleats. As a result of this, the sole and heel of the shoe intermediate the recesses are brought to bear against the upper surface of the sole of the protective device. Therefore, the weight of the person wearing the shoe is borne by the sole and heel of the shoe rather than being concentrated at the cleats.

In order to prevent the points of the cleats from punchingthrough the relatively soft material of the sole of the protective device, a layer of a harder material may be included beneath the recesses to withstand some of the downward forces imposed upon the cleats. The upper at the toe of the protective device is provided with an overlapping flap that defines a receptacle 'which receives the toe of the shoe. To allow the toe of the shoe to be slid into this receptacle portion, a groove is provided in the upper surface of the sole of the protective device, extending longitudinally rearwardly fromthe forwardmost cleat-receiving recess. Therefore, the forward cleat 0n the shoe may enter the groove rearwardly of theforwardmost recess and be slid forwardly to enter that recess through longitudinal motion.

Thus, the device is a lightweight, compact protector that is easily placed on or removed from the cleated shoes. It avoids the inconvenience of changing or removing shoes, and protects both the surface walked upon and the cleats of the shoes. It is much safer for the person wearing the cleat guard device when negotiating paved areas. In some instances, when Wet terrain in encountered, it may be preferred to leave the cleat guard on the shoe rather than removing it.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved device for covering the cleats of a cleated shoe.

Another object of this invention is to improve the safety, convenience and comfort of one Wearing cleated shoes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cleat protective device which may be made at low cost and which is easily stored or carried when not in use.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the cleat protective device of this invention as applied to a golf shoe;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1, with the golf shoe removed for clarity;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken along line H of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner in which the shoe with its cleats mates with the protective device.

DESCRIPTION OF 'III-IE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in the drawing, the cleat guard 10 of this invention is used in protecting the cleats of a golf shoe 11. The cleat guard device 10 includes an upper portion, preferably made of a thin sheet of resilient elastomeric material, such as rubber, and resembling the upper portion of a conventional overshoe. Thus, it includes a toe portion 13, which defines a receptacle that receives the toe 14 of the shoe 11, and a heel portion 15 that fits around the heel 16 of the shoe. The intermediate portion 17 of the upper 12 is cut low along the side of the shoe 11.

The cleat guard 10 includes also a sole 19 which fits beneath the sole of the shoe 11. The sole 19 is integral with the upper 12 of the cleat guard 10, having a perimeter corresponding generally to that of the sole of the shoe 11, with an edge that projects laterally outwardly slightly from the upper. The sole 19 is relatively thick, providing a flexible pad of elastomeric material which may have a suitable tread pattern on its lower surface. The sole 19 has a thickness greater than the lengths of the cleats on the shoe 11.

In the upper surface 20 of the sole 19 are twelve recesses 21, eight being provided at the toe portion of the cleat guard 10 and four at the heel portion. The recesses 21 are positioned at locations corresponding to those of the cleats or spikes on a typical golf shoe. Each recess 21 includes a relatively wide upper portion 22, from the center of which extends downwardly a generally conical narrower lower portion 23. In this manner, the recesses 21 are shaped to complementarily receive the cleats of the golf shoe or to provide a slight clearance around them. Therefore, when the cleat guard 10 is in place on the shoe 11, the cleats of the shoe fit within the recesses 21, as indicated in FIG. 5. Here, it may be seen that the sole 25 of the shoe 11 bears against the upper surface 20 of the sole 19 of the protective device 10, while the cleat 26 extends downwardly into the recess 21. The weight of the person wearing the shoe is transmitted from the portions of the sole 25 of the shoe intermediate the cleats to the upper surface 20 of the sole 19 of the cleat guard 10. This helps make the device 10 comfortable to the person using it. With the cleats 26 being received within the recesses 21, they are embedded within the sole 19 and do not contact the surface beneath the shoe.

The construction of the sole 19 from a resilient elastomer provides it with flexibility so that it bends readily as the person wearing the device walks, so that the sole 19 does not interfere with the natural movement of the foot. However, there is some compression of the sole 19 as the weight is imposed upon it during use of the device. This can tend to push the generally pointed tips 27 of the cleats 26 downwardly so that they will penetrate further into the sole 19 beneath the cleats. With continued use, this ultimately may cause the ends 27 of some of the cleats 26 to be pushed entirely through the sole to contact the surface beneath the shoe. In order to avoid this, there may be included a layer 28 of a material more resistant to the action of the tips 27 of the cleats 26. Thus, the

layer 28 may be of a flexible material but somewhat harder than the resilient elastomer of the sole 19. Certain composition materials, metals or plastics are suitable. Consequently, the tips 27 of the cleats 26 will not be pushed through the bottom of the sole 19, but will be supported by the layer 28 in the event that they are pressed downwardly against the lower ends of the recesses 21.

In order to facilitate the attachment of the cleat guard 10 to the shoe 11, a longitudinal groove 30 is provided in the upper surface 20 of the sole 19. This groove extends between the forwardmost recess 21 at the toe of the shoe and the recess 21 longitudinally aligned with it and located generally at the area of the ball of the foot. This enables the forward cleat 26 at the toe of the shoe to enter the groove 30 and slide into the forwardmost recess 21 as the cleat guard 10' is being applied to the shoe. Consequently, the toe 14 of the shoe 11 will fit beneath the overhanging flap at the toe portion 13 of the upper 12 upon relative longitudinal movement of the shoe 11 and the cleat guard 10. It is unnecessary to bend the toe portion 13 of the cleat guard 10 outwardly to allow the toe 14 4 of the shoe to enter it and, instead, the cleat guard 10 slips onto the shoe in the manner of a conventional overshoe. The groove 30 is more shallow than the depth of the forward recess 21 so that the cleat for this recess will be retained once it enters the recess.

Thus, the device of this invention is a lightweight flexible unit that is easily attached or removed from golf shoes. It provides safe traction over any surface, while protecting against damage from scratching by the cleats. At the same time, the cleats are not worn down or broken off when the device is applied to the shoe. The cleat guard 10 is readily carried in a golf bag or other convenient location as it will fold compactly. It considerably adds to the convenience of the golfer, who may put on his golf shoes before leaving home without need to change at the time the course is reached. The device 10 is attractive, easily kept clean and economical to manufacture.

While illustrated and described for use with golf shoes, the cleat guard 10 of this invention may be adapted for use as well with other shoes having cleats. It is merely necessary to vary the shapes and positions of the recesses in the sole to accommodate different cleats or different cleat patterns.

I claim:

1. In combination with a shoe having an upper, a sole and a plurality of spaced cleats projecting from said sole in a predetermined patern, a device for protecting said cleats comprising a sheet defining a sole member substantially complementarily engaging said sole of said shoe,

and an upper portion of flexible material having portions engaging said shoe upper for attaching said sole member to said shoe,

said sole member having an upper surface having a plurality of spaced recesses therein,

said recesses being arranged substantially in predetermined patern, each of said recesses substantially complementarily receiving one of said cleats projecting from said shoe sole, said surface being substantially continuous intermediate most adjacent recesses therein, said sole member being a relatively soft flexible material, and including in addition a layer of material harder than said relatively soft flexible material, said layer being embedded with said relatively soft flexible material and extending beneath said recesses for preventing said cleats from pushing through the bottoms of said recesses.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 in which said upper portion has an overlapping flap defining a receptacle receiving the toe of shoe, and in which said sole member has a forward recess at the toe portion thereof receiving a forward cleat, said upper surface of said sole member being provided with a longitudinal groove extending rearwardly from said forward recess and communicating therewith for permitting a cleat to enter said forward recess upon relative longitudinal movement of said sole member and a shoe.

3. A device as recited in claim 1 in which said recesses include relatively wide portions adjacent said upper surface of said sole member, and relatively narrow substantially conical portions extending downwardly from said relatively wide portions, said pattern corresponding to a said sheet having a surface engaging said sole for 5. A device as recited in claim 4 in which said means t sm t g wfi ght r m Said $01610 Said Sheet, for attaching said sheet to said shoe includes an upper Said Surface having a plurality of recesses therein, of a relatively thin material, said upper having a forward Said fecfisses being arranged Substantially in flap defining a receptacle receiving the toe of said shoe.

said predetermined pattern and substantially complementarily receiving said cleats, whereby said cleats are embedded in said sheet and prevented from engaging a surface beneath said sheet,

said surface having a forward recess receiving said 5 6. A device as recited in claim 4 in which said groove is more shallow than said forward recess.

7. A device as recited in claim 6 in which the rearward end of said groove is more shallow than the forward end of said groove.

forward cleat, said surface including a groove 10 References Cited extending rearwardly from and communicating UNITED STATES PATENTS with said forward recess for allowing said forward cleat to enter said forward recess upon 754673 3/1904 Mltchen 36*114 relative longitudinal movement of said shoe and 15 2,076,316 4/1937 Beals 36 114 said sheet, 2,958,963 11/1960 Lougheed 36l 14 said surface being continuous between substantial- 3,020,654 2/1962 Mflcallll 36114 1y all adjacent recesses so that said sheet at said 3,313,047 4/1967 Svren 36-73 surface is substantially undistortable and can support said weight transmitted from said sole 20 ALFRED GUEST, Primary Examiner to said sheet,

and means attaching said sheet to said shoe. 

